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Amble's Community Newspaper: News & events from Amble in Northumberland - The Kindliest Port.Thu, 17 Aug 2017 15:51:53 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.1http://www.theambler.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cropped-nufish2-rgb-512x512px-1-32x32.jpgThe Amblerhttp://www.theambler.co.uk
3232Happiness as JCSC students receive A-Level resultshttp://www.theambler.co.uk/2017/08/17/happiness-as-jcsc-students-receive-a-level-results/
http://www.theambler.co.uk/2017/08/17/happiness-as-jcsc-students-receive-a-level-results/#respondThu, 17 Aug 2017 12:52:58 +0000http://www.theambler.co.uk/?p=15061Sixth Form students from James Calvert Spence College, Acklington Road, this morning received their A-Level results confirming places into many Universities across the UK after two years of hard work and determination.

David Nisbet, Head of School has released the following statement. “JCSC is pleased to announce improved Level 3 results this year. The average A Level grade was a C, while general vocational and vocational technical levels saw average grades rise to Distinction Plus and Distinction Star respectively.”

“There have been some outstanding individual results. Amy Hume and Susan Nelson have been our highest achieving students in terms of grades and progress (both achieved three Distinction* grades and a further Distinction). Other notable achievements include:

Some students are still considering their options beyond their time at JCSC but the vast majority of students have gained their first choice places at university or apprenticeships. A record number of students are attending Russell Group universities: 43% of the cohort at the time of this release. A record percentage of our a students have chosen to attend university, despite the rising costs of higher education.

We are exceptionally proud of the notable achievements of our young people and the hard work of our teaching and support staff. We are grateful for the supportive role played by parents, carers and the local community. We wish our students every success in the future.”

A nursing student from Amble has criticised the decision to cancel blood donor sessions in the town, which she says is a crucial service. Sessions had been held at the Radcliffe Club in recent months, ever since the Dovecote Centre closed, but they have now ended, with donors told the sessions were financially unviable.

Jennie Rutherford is in her third year studying nursing at Dundee University. She told The Ambler: “I feel it’s going to drop the numbers of existing donors and also not encourage any more. Blood donors are few and far between anyway and ending the service is not going to help.”

Radcliffe Club manager Charlene Allan said she was surprised at the cancellation and only found out when blood donors told her their next sessions were to be held at Willowburn Leisure Centre in Alnwick.

“There’s no other within a 10 mile radius, we already cover Warkworth, Hadston, Broomhill, Widdrington,” said Charlene.

Jane Green, Assistant Director Blood Donation Operations – North, told The Ambler: “Hospital blood use is declining by 3-4% a year and this means that sometimes we need to reduce the amount of blood donation sessions that we hold. It’s important that we do not waste precious donations by collecting too much blood.

“We have made the difficult decision to close the session held at Radcliffe Working Mens’ Club in Amble and we thank our donors for their life-saving generosity.

“This was a smaller six-bed session that could only accommodate a limited number of donors. The session was also in a more rural area with a higher travel time for our mobile team. We greatly value the generosity and commitment shown by our Amble donors.

“We appreciate it may be too difficult for many people in Amble to travel to an alternative session and we thank them for the lives they have already saved.”

Student nurse Jennie has been a regular blood donor in Amble since she was 17, and gives blood at University. She was critical of the decision to cancel the service.

“The blood service is always texting, phoning, emailing you, pleading with you to donate, yet they’re getting rid of Amble’s local service and replacing them with venues that are hard to get to.

“I know from my nursing how crucial blood and the blood donors are, and I’m really sad to see sessions and donors being cut.”Anna Williams

After thirteen years as Headteacher at Amble First School, Mrs Joyce Jenkins will be retiring this summer.

Working with a well-established team of staff, the school has seen many changes over these years – the opening of a kitchen to cook school meals on site; the development of the playground area to provide a whole range of outdoor activities and challenges; the introduction of Breakfast Club; partnerships with schools in Nairobi, Kenya; developing the capacity for Beach School activities, with many staff now qualified as Beach School practitioners; the publication of a book “All About Amble”; the opening of Edwin Street Nursery and extension of the teaching facilities for older children with new classrooms – as well as gaining a whole range of awards including Healthy School, Basic Skills, Artsmark Gold and the International School Award.

“My time at Edwin Street has given me some of the most interesting, challenging, exciting and rewarding years of my entire career”, said Mrs Jenkins.

“Working in Amble has been a joy, especially collaborating with a range of community groups and seeing how beautifully the town has developed over recent years.

“I have loved it all, I will miss it hugely and I thank everyone – pupils, parents, staff, governors, community members and friends for making it such a wonderful time….though I am looking forward to not getting up early and having the chance to take some holidays in term time!”

An outstanding Head

Simon Baxter, chair of governors told The Ambler: “I speak on behalf of the children, parents, staff and governors when I say that Joyce has been an outstanding Headteacher of Amble First School over the last … quite some years… and will be greatly missed by all. Joyce is a very warm, friendly and compassionate person who is admired and trusted by all who meet her; an ideal recipe for a Head Teacher.

“Throughout her time at AFS Joyce led from the front with a constant stream of new ideas for teaching our children new skills and nurturing their enthusiasm to learn. The establishment of the nursery was developed and driven by Joyce and has been a great success. Joyce and the school staff even painted the nursery during the summer holidays to ensure it was ready for the first day of the new term.

“Joyce has fostered not only a fantastic environment of learning in the classroom but one utilising the outdoors and Amble’s many attractions from the beaches, the Braid, walks to Warkworth, painting and bird-watching on the Coquet estuary, church visits to involvement in the Puffin Festival. Staff even undertook beach training enabling them to take the children to Amble’s beaches during beach days which now culminates in the annual Beach Week.

“Maximising the available outdoor space a gardening area complete with chickens, a soft play sports pitch and a quiet area have all been provided for the children to use at break times.

Joyce Jenkins surrounded by Amble First School (Edwin Street) children

“A partnership with Ndurarua Primary School, Nairobi, Kenya was developed where during a half-term visit Joyce was invited to plant trees in the Olympic Forest and among other things taught a class of 55 children!

“Numerous visits around the county have been undertaken at the Glendale Show, Bolam Lake and Ingram Valley which was a particular favourite of Joyce. Residential visits to Ford Castle and Dukes’ House Wood and day trips to the Hancock Museum were also enjoyed by all who attended. There has even been time to watch the Tour of Britain cycling and the royal visit by the Countess of Wessex.

“This is only a snapshot of what Joyce has done for Amble First School and we all truly thank her for all her endeavours over the ….last quite some years and wish her a long and happy retirement.

“Finally, who can forget the discovery of a skull during the drainage repairs which had the children utterly amazed for days. As part of the school heritage and local folklore, Joyce being the one person who knows the identity of who it belongs to will now only tell the new Headteacher!

The new Headteacher, Mrs Helen Bruce, will take over the reins at Edwin Street in September. Helen is currently Deputy Headteacher at St Aidan’s First School in Ashington.

]]>http://www.theambler.co.uk/2017/08/15/saying-goodbye-to-a-much-loved-headteacher/feed/0Northumberland Wildlife Trust Events – August to September 2017http://www.theambler.co.uk/2017/08/03/northumberland-wildlife-trust-events-august-to-september-2017/
http://www.theambler.co.uk/2017/08/03/northumberland-wildlife-trust-events-august-to-september-2017/#respondThu, 03 Aug 2017 15:25:33 +0000http://www.theambler.co.uk/?p=15022We have loads of great, varied events with something for everyone across Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside. Our forthcoming ones are listed below but we’re always adding new ones. All our events with full details and booking are available online here http://www.nwt.org.uk/whats-on

Please note that all children under 18 attending our events must be accompanied by an adult.

Three young citizens were nominated for this annual award for outstanding behaviour and attitude.

Joe Denny from Warkworth First School, Harrison Gough from Amble First School and Evie Bell from Amble Links School were all shortlisted for the award given by Alnwick Neighbourhood Police Team and supported by local businesses.

Joe was nominated for his outstanding attitude to life. He adopted the motto “Never Give Up”, a mantra which has helped him meet some of the challenges of his ADHD, particularly when he finds many situations overwhelming. He has tackled personal fears and is caring and supportive of his younger brothers. When he heard a local charity had lost a significant amount of funding, he wanted to help. So far, Joe has raised more than £2000 for the charity, running a mile a day throughout the month of June.

He said “I’m happy. I was surprised when they read my name out.”

Being presented with a bike was a particular treat, as he only learned to ride during the Easter holidays. Now he has a bike, he says he is keen to try a triathlon.

Joe’s mother Nell McGrath said “I’m a bit overwhelmed. It’s lovely; he’s done such a lot of work. He tries really hard and he’s a great character.”

Evie Bell was nominated by Amble Links School, for being conscientious and hardworking at school. She’s a highly effective Junior Play Leader, helping to organise equipment and games, she’s a school librarian, and at home, often helps her grandfather who has Parkinson’s Disease. Evie also helps around the house, walks her dog and sets a good example to others.

Harrison Gough was nominated by Amble First School, for being up for most challenges. He is very good at maths and helps his peers, even making a series of short maths videos. He is a great organiser, a kind and considerate group leader, and happily manned a book stall at the summer fair. Harrison is a huge help at school, and encourages other children even when he finds tasks challenging. At home, he helps his disabled mum, and although he dislikes PE and sport, sets himself goals to keep fit and healthy.

This year’s good citizens award was organised by Alnwick Neighbourhood Police Team and Amble Development Trust. Now in its seventh year, the award recognises outstanding and exemplary behaviour by local children, both at school, at home, and in the community. Each winner received a certificate and trophy, and a goody bag filled with treats and vouchers, all donated by local businesses. A cake was donated by Amble’s Farm Bakery. The overall winner received a bike and helmet donated by Spurreli.

One of Iona Skye’s creations inspired by the Northumbrian coast. Photo by Samantha Orton

A local fashion design student has been selected to feature in a graduate show, and is now hoping for a future in the industry.

Iona Skye Buddle, who lived in Amble before going to university, was one of six students whose work was selected for the recent graduate fashion week, and her designs can be seen on Vogue’s website.

She went to Newcastle College to study Art and Design and then Nottingham Trent University where she studied for a BA in Fashion Knitwear Design. As part of her year’s placement, Iona Skye worked for Hugo Boss in Switzerland as a knitwear developer. Her collection was sponsored by international yarn manufacturer UPW, who are based in Hong Kong.

Iona Skye described how growing up close to the sea has influenced her work: “I have grown up in a coastal village in Northumberland; I have always been inspired by the ocean and I am passionate about sustainability and ethical fashion and it felt important to me as I was creating my collection, to have links with my coastal roots.

Some of Iona Skye’s collection modeled at Graduate Fashion week

I wanted to use materials that would highlight ocean pollution and how it is affecting our textile material source and marine life. Using Monofilament within my collection has been important to me, as it is a single fibre of plastic, widely used as fishing line. Monofilament knitted creates a high strength, flexible and fine transparent fabric that has created such unique garments within my collection.”

Iona Skye told The Ambler: “Since the show, I have had lots of interest from brands like GAP In New York, Next and a few suppliers in Manchester/London. So I am just seeing where the opportunities take me then maybe in the future start my own label but for now I’m happy just exploring all of the opportunities that come my way!”

I’ve never tried to write anything where I’ve worked backwards in time. However this is a rewrite of an earlier column, completed before my recent trip to France. (More of that in the next edition).

The recent fire in the tower block in London calls for a rethink of many aspects of the situation. We all tend to have 20/20 vision in hindsight.

Our recent election was a humdinger. Accusations of Dementia Tax and Magic Money Trees are flying around. I reckon that our present parliamentary arithmetic could well lead to a Brexit of compromise and good sense. Perhaps that’s what politics is all about.

My earlier column referred to Nicola Sturgeon and co, fundraising for the costs of a second Scottish referendum. It is interesting that they’ve stopped.

Michael Flynn and his threat to blow the gaff on US-Russia contacts is just one aspect of the political omnishambles which has engulfed the Trump presidency. Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State is charged with being a friend of President Putin. The feeling is that the wonderful checks and balances and layers of lawyers so beloved by our Transatlantic Cousins will run and run.

Nearer home, Facebook may be used by Ofsted inspectors to assess things going on in schools. Could the same device be used to assess the true worth of Ofsted inspectors? Still on education, the Supreme Court ruling on holidaymaking in term time is bound to raise hackles.

How about the recently discovered version of a worm eating mushroom? Small worm, large mushroom. (Found in sand dunes apparently! – Ed). A senior medical man has talked about the way to cure the scourge of type 2 diabetes. The answer is to eat less and excercise more. I hate to say “I told you so,” but that’s what I’ve been doing all my life. The overall effect has been to have a generally healthy body, and mental processes that have clearly led to my Cultivated Eccentricity.

Finally, we must all calm down and face the world as it is, and not as we’d like it to be. We used to be a nation known for its resilience. Let’s all do some thinking. I’m absolutely sure we’ll all come to the same conclusion. People do best when they work together.

On a beautiful afternoon, Saturday 27 May, a large crowd gathered to witness the naming of Amble’s new Shannon Class lifeboat. Chairman of the Amble Station, John Young, welcomed the guests who included friends and family of the late Elizabeth and Leonard Brumfield. Ellington Colliery Band provided music for the occasion.

Dianne Loveridge, God daughter of Elizabeth Brumfield, then handed the lifeboat over to the RNLI. She said, “It was a privilege and a pleasure to be here on this occasion.” She was proud of what Elizabeth and Leonard had achieved and said “Elizabeth would have been amazed and excited, by all that has happened.”

Dianne Loverage officially handed over the lifeboat to the RNLI

Accepting the vessel on behalf of the RNLI, Robbie Warrington, Head of Lifesaving Support, commended all our lifeboat men to the assembly. He told us “The new craft had already been launched five times and will give vital service long into the future. It is hugely capable, it can go out in any weather, and looks after the crew better than the previous vessel.”
In years past, the lifeboat was crewed by local fishermen, now the volunteers come from all
walks of life.

In accepting the boat on behalf of the Amble Station, John Wingfield, Lifeboat Operations Manager, thanked the family and friends of Elizabeth who had come along. He said he was grateful to the estate of Elizabeth Brumfield and all the fundraisers, including ALF (Amble Lifeboat Fundraisers), and local businesses and donors, who between them had raised, ‘a phenomenal amount of money.’

He promised the lifeboat would be well looked after. The service of dedication was conducted by the Revd. Gillian Harwood, a former vicar of Amble. Dianne Loveridge, then formally named the lifeboat ‘Elizabeth and Leonard.’
The crew then put her through her paces to show us what she was capable of. She is powered by jet propulsion enabling her to go forwards (ahead), backwards (astern) and even sideways, and she can turn in a complete circle in a very small space.

Closing the ceremony, Dr. Paul Creighton thanked everyone who had made the day possible; the RNLI, the fundraisers, the crew and all those who support them onshore.
He made particular reference to Rodney Burge, who many years ago, when it looked like the RNLI might close our station, said to the visiting Admiral,
“We was here afore ye!” making reference to the fact that as a coal port Amble had always supported its seamen and had
a lifeboat before the RNLI was created. He firmly believes that if not for Rodney’s intervention, this ceremony would not have been possible.Vivienne Dalgliesh

Plans for the redevelopment of JCSC have now been halted while a review of all schools and colleges takes place.

A multi million pound investment for James Calvert Spence College announced last February will no longer go ahead, after the new administration in Northumberland County Council (NCC) voted to halt the project.

At a meeting in July, county councillors voted to reverse a previous declaration to fund improvements to the Amble school, saying that the plans had never been formally agreed. They promised to work with JCSC in future funding applications.

In February, the Labour – led council announced the £9m project, which would have seen refurbishment of the school on Acklington Road, the closure of the South Avenue site and the construction of one building to house children from both sites.

However the new Conservative – led administration which took over control of NCC in May has now halted the project, bringing criticism and anger from local Labour councillors, who claim schools in other parts of Northumberland are being favoured, to the detriment of poorer areas like Amble.

Review of all schools announced

After the cabinet meeting in July, NCC leader Peter Jackson announced a review of developments for all schools and colleges in the county. He said: “In recent years James Calvert Spence College has received over £1.2 million in repairs, ensuring that its buildings are fit for purpose.

“The new council has given a clear public promise to work with the College to draw up a viable, sustainable scheme to take education in Amble forward and to actively support all applications for future funding for James Calvert Spence.

“As yet I have seen no detailed business case for the £11 million scheme that was previously proposed, and no plan for how it was intended to be paid for, aside from producing more debt for the council. The scheme had never been formally agreed by the previous council and was just one of a number of projects that were considered before May.

“Cabinet members yesterday agreed that proposals for James Calvert Spence will be considered as part of the wider review of school and college developments in Northumberland and I would like to reiterate my wish to work with the school to come up with a detailed and viable package of improvements.

“Our responsibility is to work in partnership with all schools in our county.”

Councillor Scott Dickinson, former Chair of Governors at JCSC told The Ambler:

James Calvert Spence College Acklington Rd campus. JCSC has 737 pupils aged 9 -18, and was graded as Requires Improvement at its last Ofsted inspection in 2014.

“Naturally, I am disappointed, not because of the many years of work put in by me and the school to get to the decisive point of final approval but for the children and families of the local area. This was an opportunity of a lifetime for children in Amble and surrounding areas to get large scale investment in educational buildings and resource to help the school improve standards and environments for learning.

“This was an opportunity for the Conservative administration to let the children of Amble know that they matter just as much as Alnwick, Morpeth, Ponteland and Prudhoe, unfortunately, they chose not to do that. Instead, they chose to vote against the recommendations left by the previous Labour Administration who had committed to the school and the children of the area.

“In planning for this point there has been much work carried out, from Educational Briefs completed by the school in July 2016 to the architects being appointed in October 2016 to create drawings and plans. Many hours spent meeting, discussing and tweaking plans. NCC Schools Capital team meeting with School leaders and others to keep momentum going and get to the ultimate point of approval. A short delay meant the project missed the March meeting and therefore the Councils Mixed Cabinet couldn’t approve during April, so this unfortunately meant the ultimate point came when the Conservatives were in control and they changed the Cabinet to a single party Cabinet which meant the project stood no chance.

“The Labour Group will continue to support the school and challenge this decision, our commitment remains to the school and Town, the former Leader of the Council attended the Cabinet meeting to be present if the Conservatives had any questions but it was quickly voted down.”

Refurbishment Plans

Back in February, NCC announced the investment, saying: “Planning is underway now for the £9 million investment by Northumberland County Council at James Calvert Spence College in Amble.

“Meetings have taken place between the school, Northumberland County Council officers and designers, to establish the educational vision for the relocation of the middle school onto the James Calvert Spence College (JCSC) site on Acklington Road. In addition, refurbishment of existing accommodation on the site will be carried out, to form one large college to cater for nine to 13 year olds.

“Initial designs and architectural plans have now been developed and a team of quantity surveyors are currently developing accurate project costs to enable the project to move to the next phase of design. The building work set to begin in the spring term of 2017.

“The refurbishment of the school site will bring with it modernised classrooms, upgraded social areas and a new sixth form suite. The school will also provide more opportunities for the local community to use the new facilities outside of school hours.”

Amble councillors comments

Cllr Terry Clark

New councillor Terry Clark, the local Labour member in Amble was angry at the decision and accused the new administration of ignoring Amble. On Facebook he said: “I see that the Tories are once again ignoring Amble whilst pushing ahead with pouring money into new schools in Ponteland. It’s noticeable the new schools there, sitting in the Tory Leader’s ward, will have many millions poured in to support some of the wealthiest kids in Northumberland, yet some of the County’s poorest young people from Amble are to be denied similar levels of investment, as to the Tories, Amble’s children just don’t matter.”

Councillor Jeff Watson disputed that Amble was missing out. He told The Ambler: “Amble is not missing out to the so called richer parts of the County. What it needs is a proper business case for the development of the school presented to the Cabinet which is made up of councillors from across the county.

Cllr Jeff Watson

“A proper and complete case for JCSC was not presented to the Cabinet for approval by the last administration whereas Ponteland plans were submitted and approved in the last budget by the Labour administration.

“Local Councillors and the current administration are all working to have a proper plan for the development of JCSC but will not announce them to the public until they are firm and agreed properly so that the general public are not misled by promises that are not fulfilled.”

Some of your comments

Members of the public gave The Ambler their views, and some voiced scepticism with the original announcement.

“I think the promise of funding for JCSC was only for political gain prior to the elections, I do believe there were discussions, but no concrete decisions made, or even the money available,” said Rebecca Shoemaker, whose daughter goes up to JCSC Acklington Road this September.

Parent Rebecca Shoemaker

“The publicity led the public to believe the promises that were made by politicians and has now caused upset amongst the public now the apparent agreed funding has been halted. The public just want the truth and not what some feel have been lies,” she said.

From Facebook

MB: This is ridiculous so far private houses are ok but nothing else. As a newcomer myself I obviously wanted to move here but do believe that you have to invest in the infrastructure of a place not just keep building houses. It makes no sense to back track. The council need to invest in Amble with school, shops and roads, not pull out of what has already been promised.

JS: Terrible news

BD: Contrast this with the news that James Calvert Spence College in Amble has had its proposed improvements shelved by the council. I would respectfully suggest that the accusation by Conservative members of the former Labour council buying votes has been swiftly turned on its head.

LL: I think it’s about time our elected councillors started telling the truth. Was £9m put aside and agreed upon for the expansion and improvement to JCSC? And if so, can we see the minutes or written statements from the meetings when it was agreed? And where is this money now? Even our esteemed council can’t lose £9m….or can they? It appears honesty is never the best policy within our local councils and all the way to government. Sickens me, these people are supposed to be representing us, the tax paying, voting public.

AD: I hope I live to see the day when I can say that our council is looking out for the best interests of our county as a whole. We had the previous administration needlessly moving the council headquarters from Morpeth (a non labour area) to Ashington (a strong labour area). Now we have the new administration canning proposed improvements to Amble’s school system (a labour area) and approving improvements to Ponteland’s school system (a tory area). My kids could do just as good a job as this lot, in fact they might do better with being highly proficient in school ground politics. Whilst I had my doubts about the proposed project in Amble as it would be woefully inadequate if the planned expansion of housing takes place it would have been nice to have heard some well reasoned narrative to the decision with a view to a new plan being put forward as soon as possible. Ponteland’s current school and leisure facilities are superior to Amble’s so its hard to see the logic in the approval granted other than looking after their own. Hey Ho.

SH: Same council tax as Ponteland should equal same facilities

Anna Williams

Aug 2017: This article has been updated to include comments from Cllr Jeff Watson and members of the public

Dolphins are becoming a regular sight again in the Friendliest Port. This pod of playful bottlenose dolphins was seen enjoying life in the harbour mouth at the beginning of June. These photos were taken by artist Katie Henery of Niche Pod in Amble Harbour Village. Katie wrote on her Facebook page “Another unbelievable visit from the bottlenose dolphins to Amble Harbour this morning!!! Amazing views of a pod of around 6 or 7 very active dolphins at about 11am in the harbour mouth.